What is Mikel Brown Jr.'s Status for Louisville's Finale at Miami?

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - While the Louisville men's basketball program hasn't exactly been peaking at the right time, they were at least able to be successful in their last time out. In what was their last home game of the season, they were able to dispatch Syracuse fairly easily claiming a 77-62 decision.

Next up, the Cardinals have a chance to take a winning streak into the postseason, traveling to Miami for their final game of the regular season. Tip-off against the Hurricanes is scheduled for Saturday, Mar. 7 at 2:00 p.m. EST.

With the matchup less than 24 hours away, we have our first inclination as to who could play, and will not. On Friday night, the ACC released the first availability report for Louisville's matchup vs. Miami. An updated report will also be released two hours before tip-off.

On the Louisville side of things, once again guard Mikel Brown Jr. was designated as "out" on the first report.

Brown re-aggravated his lingering lower back injury in the game against North Carolina on Feb. 23. It had a notable impact on his availability and efficiency in the game at Clemson on Feb. 28, as he did not start against the Tigers and logged only five points, four assists and two rebounds in 21 minutes. The star freshman point guard would then go on to miss the previous game vs. Syracuse.

In the five games prior to the Clemson game, Brown was playing at an All-American caliber level, putting up 29.2 points, 4.8 assists and 3.2 assists per game, and shooting 52.2 percent from the field plus a blazing 54.0 percent on three-point tries. Playing in 21 games this season, the 6-foot-5, 190-pound point guard's 18.2 points, 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game all lead the Cardinals.

As for the Canes, their depth will certainly be tested, as they have four players designated as out on the first injury report.

Sophomore guard Marcus Allen has (5.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG) has been out since mid-December due to a battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. True freshman forward Timotej "Timo" Malovec (4.7 PPG, 1.5 RPG) had to miss the previous game at SMU due to an undisclosed injury. Freshman forward Treyvon Maddox has yet to play in a game this season.

Below is the full report for both sides:

ACC's Initial Availability Report for Louisville vs. Miami

Louisville Cardinals

OUT

#0 Mikel Brown
#7 Kasean Pryor

QUESTIONABLE

PROBABLE

#15 Aly Khalifa

Miami Hurricanes